There is an expression we used in funds management – “I’ve never seen a negative pitch deck”.
A pitch deck is a document that a company uses to pitch itself to investors, and virtually all pitch decks project steadily rising earnings.
It is the epitome of optimism, but it’s actually an important bias. Business owners wouldn’t be in business if they didn’t believe they had a great chance to succeed. And investors don’t want to invest in businesses unless the potential upside considerably outweighs the potential downside.
So the point of a pitch deck is to start a conversation between businesses and investors, which must then involve a thorough examination of the underlying risks and hard realities required to make it happen.
This is relevant to the initiatives that you choose to start or become a part of. Start by considering the best-case scenario that would spark your interest. Then examine what’s actually required to realise that potential.
.